Unskilled in the Word of Righteousness by Dr Nathaniel Omilani

After the resurrection of Christ, he appeared to Cleopas and another disciple. They were travelling by foot from Jerusalem to Emmaus (a distance of 11 kilometres). Jesus joined them, but they knew him not (Luke 27:13-18). The sadness and worry were also with them in this journey because Jesus asked, why are you sad.

 

They told Jesus that the Jews handed over one Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet that is mighty in words and deeds, to the Romans, and they crucified him, and no one knows what has become of him. They reported that some women in their company were at Sepulchre this morning, and they found it empty.

They further told Jesus that they expected that this Jesus would return the government to the Jews. The glorified Jesus was disappointed at the ignorance of the men in his company for over three years. He must have been shocked that these men thought he was missing.

 

Luke 24:25-26 KJV

Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:  

Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?  

 

Jesus referred to them as fools because they could not situate the event into the scripture and the revelational knowledge he expects. When your revelational knowledge of Christ is limited, Jesus Christ is always unhappy. Christ is just a prophet, a miracle worker, and a man mighty in words to many today. If you are in this category, you are behind the schedule of God. The glorified Christ intends that you will be able to bring together all that you have learnt from him and use them to process situations and circumstances appropriately.

Similar Complaints

MarK 7:18-19 KJV

And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;   Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? 

Here Jesus was disappointed that the disciples could not discern the source of uncleanness of man.

Mark 8:15-18

And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. 

And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 

Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? 

He was also disappointed that his disciple’s reasoning about what the leavening of the Pharisee and Herod meant is not the same as his definition.

The Solution to Unskillfulness in the Word of Righteousness

Luke 24:27

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.       

The Lord Jesus began a teaching session. He expounded (gave a detailed explanation of all the scriptures said concerning himself). He started from Moses and all the prophets; this means he must have spent hours trying to let them know that Christ ought to suffer before entering into glory. The Journey to Emmaus is more than three hours. Cleopas and his friend must have spent more than three hours listening to Jesus. The solution to the dullness of mind and inability to use the scriptures as the framework for interpreting life issues is listening to a detailed explanation of what the Lord has to say across scriptures.

Hebrews 5:13

For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 

If you are not willing to sit with the word of God, you will remain a babe. You may make it to heaven, but your life view and response to issues will be different from those of Christ on earth. Indeed, you will be unable to walk in the same dominion which Jesus Christ walked on earth.

Remaining unskillful in the word of righteousness is a state that no child of God should desire. Unfortunately, prayer and fasting have a limited role in making you skillful in the word of righteousness. If it were, Jesus could have prayed with Cleopas and his friend. The solution is being exposed to a source where scriptures you have read before will be expounded to you to see Jesus Christ in the entire scripture’s pages.

Action Point

Take time to sit down and read the word of God

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